The present invention generally pertains to abraded fabrics well suited for use in home furnishings such as for use in constructing upholstery. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an abraded stitchbonded fabric and to a process for making the fabric.
Felt-like and suede-like fabrics have been used for years in the home furnishing and automotive industries. These fabrics have a pleasing look and tactile feel to their front side. Moreover, these fabrics can stand up to high friction environments while keeping their appearance intact. In the past, processes for creating these fabrics have included shearing, napping, or brushing warp-knitted or woven loop piled fabrics. These fabrics, however, have been relatively expensive to produce.
A cheaper alternative to warp-knitted or woven fabrics are stitchbonded fabrics. A stitchbonded fabric generally refers to a fabric made from a nonwoven web in which the fibers of the web are connected by stitches sewn or knitted through the web. In general, stitchbonded fabrics are relatively inexpensive to produce in comparison to many other woven fabrics. In the past, these types of fabrics have been used in many diverse and various applications.
The stitches in a stitchbonded fabric are typically applied to the webs in rows. In one embodiment, these stitches can be formed so as to make loops on the front side or face of the fabric. The loops create a loop pile on the face of the fabric.
Two limitations exist, however, to using stitchbonded fabrics as a replacement to the above-described felt-like or suede-like fabrics. The first limitation is the inability of conventional stitchbonded fabrics to withstand high wear such as when the fabric is used in upholstery applications. For instance, since the fabrics are made from a nonwoven substrate, they have a tendency to undergo pilling over time in high friction environments. Pilling refers to the formation of small balls or fuzz that develop on the fabric.
Further, conventionally made stitchbonded fabrics typically have an inherent degree of stretch created by the manner in which the fabrics are made. This stretch characteristic may be undesirable in certain high wear applications, such as when the fabric is used to cover furniture. For instance, in these applications, a stretchable fabric may not perform as well and may also adversely effect the appearance of the covered product.
The second limitation is finding a process which will convert stitchbonded fabrics into fabrics that have the appearance or feel of felt or suede. Traditionally, a shearing process has been used to produce suede-like fabrics from woven or knitted materials. However, when applied to stitchbonded fabrics, this shearing process is very slow, requiring many passes of the shearing apparatus over the stitchbonded fabric in order to insure that all the loops on the surface of the fabric are cut. The slowness of the shearing process renders it impractical and uneconomical for many end uses.
The traditional abrading processes of napping and brushing that are used on woven and warp-knitted loop piled fabrics, on the other hand, are too harsh for stitchbonded fabrics. The bristles of the nappers and/or the brushes tend to dig into the stitchbonded fabrics, causing the staple fibers of the nonwoven web to be pulled up through the outer stitching creating an undesirable appearance.
In view of the above deficiencies, a need currently exists for an economical abraded-loop piled stitchbonded fabric that may be used in high wear applications, such as for use as an upholstery fabric. A need also exists for the abraded stitchbonded fabric to have a pleasing aesthetic appearance and tactile feel that would make them desirable for use in the home furnishing and the automotive industries.
The present invention is generally directed to a suede-like fabric and to a process for producing the fabric. The fabric is a stitchbonded fabric including a planar substrate. The substrate can be, for instance, a nonwoven web containing staple fibers. The nonwoven web can have a basis weight of from about 80 gsm to about 200 gsm.
A first yarn is stitchbonded into the substrate forming rows of loop pile stitches. The loop pile stitches include loops that reside over the first surface of the substrate. For instance, the first yarn can be stitchbonded into the substrate in a manner that forms from about 14 to about 28 rows per inch in the cross machine direction and forms from about 18 to about 40 stitches per inch in the machine direction. The first yarn can be a texturized multifilament yarn made from polyester. The first yarn can have a denier of from about 50 to about 200.
A second yarn is stitchbonded into the substrate in order to secure the loop pile stitches to the substrate. The second yarn can be a multifilament polyester yarn that forms chain stitches into the substrate. The second yarn can have a denier from about 20 to about 150.
In accordance with the present invention, once the yarns have been stitchbonded into the substrate, the first surface of the fabric is abraded such that substantially all of the loops formed by the loop pile stitches are broken. The fabric can be abraded by being subjected to a sanding process.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the substrate can further contain binder fibers. The binder fibers can be, for instance, bicomponent fibers having a relatively low melting point sheath polymer. By incorporating binder fibers into the substrate and then subsequently heat treating the stitchbonded fabric, the binder fibers bond to adjacent fibers and give the fabric integrity.
Other features and aspects of the present invention are discussed in greater detail below.